Justice Department sues over conditions at Louisiana juvenile center

March 30, 2000
Web posted at: 9:09 p.m. EST (0209 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Justice Department, saying conditions at a juvenile detention center in Louisiana are "dangerous and life-threatening," sued the state and the prison operator on Thursday and asked the court to take emergency action.

Civil rights lawyers for the department said youths held at the 276-bed Jena Juvenile Justice Center are subjected to abuse and neglect, and asked for immediate steps to protect them.

"Juveniles at Jena are at substantial risk of harm due to unreasonable levels of violence from juvenile-on-juvenile assaults and the use of excessive force and abuse from staff," said a Justice Department statement released in Washington.

"We are taking this action on behalf of young people in this facility who cannot help or protect themselves," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Bill Lann Lee.

The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, asks for emergency relief which would require the state and the facility owner and operator, Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, to take a series of immediate steps to correct the alleged problems.

The suit seeks an end to the use of corporal punishment, excessive force, and gas grenades. It also seeks a limit on the use of chemical restraints and isolation, as well as a halt in disciplining or punishing juveniles who exhibit self-injurious or suicidal behavior. It asks that the center's operators eliminate "obvious suicide hazards," and that they develop and implement an adequate response to the violence, including the hiring of sufficient qualified staff and training to provide safety and security.

The Justice Department initially sued Louisiana in 1998 for not providing care to more than 1,700 youths in its juvenile correctional system. The new lawsuit amends the original suit to include Wackenhut and the Jena facility, which opened shortly after the original suit was filed.

From Producer Terry Frieden at the Justice Department

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